Conegliano – Valdobbiadene and The DOC(G), Part II

Conegliano and Valdobbiadene contribute significantly to the Veneto's status as Italy's largest producer of wines and DOCs, in no small way because, modern Prosecco, originates from this area. In a previous post I discussed DOC(G) Prosecco. Since then I've been reading up on Conegliano and Valdobbiadene as I gear up for a cycling trip between …

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Metodo Ancestrale

When I first read metodo ancestrale (ancestral method) on a bottle of Prosecco I thought I'd struck idyll gold. Metodo ancestrale is an old fermentation method that predates the industrial ones that democratized Prosecco and refined ones that elevated champagne into a world-renowned superstar. Its simple roots began in Limoux, France in the 16th century. In the world …

Raddicchio

The real meaning of enlightenment can be found in the radicchio. That is my philosophy and the philosophy of the Veneto. Like wines that are classified by geographical provenance, Radicchio di Treviso has its own IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) in Italy. And a bit in the way that Prosecco is a modern invention fostered by …

Charmat Method

Ready for a bit of terminology? In the world of sparkling wine traditional method and tank method fermentation are the most common ways to intensify and stimulate bubble action in wine through secondary fermentation. It's not quite so simple, but it is generally fair to associate traditional method with Champagne and tank method with Prosecco. Tank …

Conegliano – Valdobbiadene and The DOC(G), Part I

I've dropped the acronyms DOC and DOCG a few times here. As many of you will know, DOC is a quality assurance label in Italy. It stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, literally: Controlled Designation of Origin. It's a key label to know about when buying Italian wines. In the few Italian towns where German …